The invention relates to the field of hair curlers made of a self-gripping tape or fabric.
Hair curlers made of a self-gripping tape or fabric of the Velcro.RTM. type are well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,080 discloses a band of fabric which is glued, welded, hooked or sewn to a cylindrical body which can be rigid or deformable plastic foam. According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,267,942, a fabric cylinder is made self supporting by insertion of reinforcement rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,382 discloses a hair curler in which the fabric is secured to a hollow curler of body by passing the end of the strips of fabric through slots in the curler body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,192 discloses a hair curler having a foam plastic roller on which a self-gripping tape is seated. The tape may be bonded to the roller with adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,670 discloses a curler having a Velcro type surface which is used in conjunction with a control wand. The curler includes an aperture which is identical in shape and width to the control wand so that the curler can slide along the wand. The wand includes a release stop means enabling the curler to be secured on and removed from the wand.
While the use of a wand enables easier application of the curler, the configuration of the curler increases both its weight and the likelihood that an additional means will be required to secure the curler to the hair. While the combination of the fabric and foam provides a lighter curler, the foam required nevertheless increases of both the size of each curler and its cost.